The present invention relates to an electronic business transaction system. In particular, the present invention relates to an electronic business transaction system, in which a terminal of a product purchaser, a terminal of a product supplier, a terminal of a product delivery service provider, and a terminal of an information administrator, who administrates information regarding the product purchaser, are connected through an electronic communication network, so that the product delivery service provider delivers a product purchased by the product purchaser from the product supplier to the product purchaser or a product receiver.
In recent years, as an electronic communication network such as Internet has being widely available, an electronic business transaction system has been widely used. In the electronic business transaction system, terminals connected to the electronic communication network are used for purchasing a product.
In general, in such an electronic business transaction system, a purchasing order of a product is placed through specifying a product name, and a name and an address of a product purchaser from a terminal of the product purchaser to a terminal of a product supplier. Then, the product supplier transmits the product name, and the name and the address of the product purchaser to a product delivery service provider, so that the product supplier requests the product delivery service provider to deliver the product to the address of the product purchaser. Accordingly, the product delivery service provider delivers the product to the address of the product purchaser.
However, due to a recent increase in crimes associated with the electronic business transaction system, many product purchasers tend to hesitate to use the electronic business transaction system, worrying about a risk of leaking personal information such as an individual name and an address to general public.
Patent Reference 1 has disclosed a conventional electronic business transaction system, in which an address different from an actual address where a product purchaser resides is specified as a delivery destination of a product. In this case, the product delivery service provider delivers the product to the address thus specified, so that the product purchaser can receive the product at the address thus specified.
Patent Reference 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-109409
In the conventional electronic business transaction system, it is possible to purchase the product without disclosing the actual address of the product purchaser to the product supplier and the product delivery service provider. However, it is necessary for the product purchaser to go to the address different from the actual address where the product purchaser resides, thereby causing troublesome to the product purchaser. Further, for the product supplier and the product delivery service provider, it is not certain that the product purchaser can receive the product at the address different from the actual address. Accordingly, the conventional electronic business transaction system is not practical.
In particular, when the product purchaser purchases the product using the conventional electronic business transaction system, not only the product purchaser purchases and receives the product by him or herself, but the product purchaser may purchase the product so that other person as a product receiver can receive the product. In this case, the product purchaser need to notify a name and an address of the product receiver to the product supplier and the product delivery service provider, thereby causing a risk in terms of individual information protection.
In view of the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic business transaction system capable of solving the problems of the conventional electronic business transaction system.